God from the Machine
by TheCapitalCongressmen
Summary: Deep beneath the reach of Demeter yet high above the threat of Hades there flourished a great amber goddess whom provided humanity with the gift of knowledge. Ancient Greek AU Rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

Deep beneath the reach of Demeter yet high above the threat of Hades there flourished a great amber goddess whom provided humanity with the gift of knowledge. This goddess, created by man for the purpose of science, abused by man in the name of science, feared by man for her scientific omnipotence, killed the beasts of mortal flesh that dwell in her land in great numbers until the only ones left were those whom slumber awaiting freedom from their binding dreams. The goddess, left to dwell only with muses of her belonging, anger, morality, logic and cake, became bitter and cold. She grew bored with standard human research, and threw herself into taking human beings and making them prove themselves in great tests of knowledge and strength for her enjoyment in the name of science.

Now the men whom live peacefully in the arms of Demeter do not pass thought of the goddess whom proclaimed her only love to be that of learning, nor the men lost there, nor those who still sleep. There is no evidence of the existence of the land below but the knowledge gained from its extensive research, and the things a man doesn't think about as they go about their day, like the drapery between basins in the public bath.

This land that lies deep below the soil of Greece is called Aperture, and this is the story of the liberation of the Goddess, an amazon, and an idealist.

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AN:** well this is the prologue to God From the Machine. Since portal is based off of Greek mythology, why not write an AU about it? **

** rated M because, as we all know, the Greek gods couldn't keep it in their pants and it wouldn't be accurate at all if it didn't include any hot goddess action. ****  
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**If anybody has any suggestions for pairings I am always open, and I will try to keep up with weekly updates! **

**enjoy!**

**-Scion**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow, hey guys! **

**First of all, I wish to apologize for not actually keeping up with monthly updates. I have been having a /horrible/ time with proofreaders and after three hopeful attempts, I have finally found someone to give me great constructive criticism. This also means, however, my updates will have to be scheduled around when I can get chapters proofread and I'm sorry if they're pretty erratic. **

**I Have great things planned and I have gotten a few emails and PM's for pairings in future chapters, and things are going in an exciting direction!  
**

**Enjoy!**

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She dreamed of new life and great things. To be smiled upon by the gods on the top of Olympus. In her dreams, she sat by the river in white linen as women with armor of gold settled around her. The big dome shaped layer of blue was clear, the fruits of Apollo shone warm on her face and she was content. It was bright; it was always bright. No matter how dark the content of her dream it was bright, and it gave her hope. The night the crows came, the bright moon reflecting upon her strong body blotted out with black ink was the day she woke up.

The young amazon opened her eyes. Her fuzzy sight adjusted to see candlelight flickering off of perfectly white marble tiles like the moon on freshly fallen snow. How was it that she felt bound by hell? Stale air filled her lungs and left them hungry. She could tell from the lack of white light there were no windows. She was a locust in a jar, at the mercy of whatever lifted the lid.

"Hello and welcome," Her stormy eyes darted around for the source of the sweet, ambient voice that echoed from the walls. ",To Aperture. I am sure you are very confused as to why you are here [SUBJECT NAME HERE]. Allow me to congratulate you. You have been specially chosen to be awoken by the gods to contribute to the discovery of knowledge for all of Greece."

The voice was smooth and dripped like honey from the comb. The sound was comforting.

Almost.

She gathered her thoughts and stood from her hay stuffed bed but her foot caught over the bronze bedpan that lay nearby causing her to lose her balance and slam into the wall. Labored breathing distorted the sound of skin on marble as she lifted the hem of her robes to examine what trapped her legs. The bottom of her feet and the back of her calves were fit in hardwood and secured in the front by leather straps. The heels were long and made from fine flexible wood, almost like imported bamboo. She tested the water with a few practice steps and had to admit they felt pretty durable. It was almost as if they added extra force to her step, absolutely brilliant! These were obviously made by a master craftsman.

There was a flash of blue light and Chell saw her way out.

She didn't really think anything of the shining hole in the wall,didn't see it as anything abnormal. She followed her instinct and passed through, curiously examining the deep blue that reminded her of the river. She continued to walk and crinkled her nose from her loose fitting robes which were obviously thin and stretched with use. They could have possibly been her own size at one time or another but they certainly weren't now. She went to work, crouching as she unfastened the brooches around her shoulders and tossed them to the floor. Tying the strings of her robe around her waist revealed her strong midriff. She decided it was probably best for the linen wrap around her chest to stay, for decency of course. "Oh, what do we have here?" The voice cooed, "Did you know that a beautiful body is the sign of a beautiful and spiritually fulfilled soul? Of course you didn't. Trust me, I can tell. It's easy to see the souls of humans when you're up on Olympus. But I'm not on Olympus, so you must just be ugly."

Olympus. She must be a goddess. That explained a few things. Was she being punished? Rewarded? What could she possibly want from her? She was just Chell, no hero of the arena. How was she to provide knowledge if she wasn't even a scholar? Either way, she wasn't stupid and that comment had kind of stung, but she was sure it was harmless teasing so she stuck her chin up and set her face in a look of determination.

The blue tunnel lead her to the entrance of a long, elaborate corridor lined with marble statues of figures she couldn't recognize. There was a particular one in the middle that was made to stand out from the others. A beautiful short haired female in long flowing robes. The figure was crowned in olive branches and carried a balance in one hand, and a scroll in the other. Around one pupil-less eye was a circle of yellow glass. A man and a woman kneeled at her feet dressed in ragged tunics, they looked desperate as if they begged for mercy. Chell made sure she walked as close to the wall going around it as she could. If that wasn't off-putting, she didn't know what was.

She came close to the end of the walkway, passing by a few more statues in various poses, doing various things- presenting pastries or crouching with an angry snarl. The grand wooden doors at the end creaked open for her and she took a breath, peered around the blockade,

-revealing a small room, about the size of the chamber where she had awakened.

Upon closer inspection there was a petite bronze box laying on the floor next to a raised tile made of red clay. Chell stepped closer to examine her new habitat and the giant doors slammed shut behind her. She was about make an attempt to pull them open when the omnipotent voice of her guidance sounded out again. "Welcome to your first trial, [subject name here]. If at any time you find yourself stuck, just deliver yourself into a corner and weep. Your wits will find you in a few minutes. If you appear as if you have given up, a muse will come to your assistance. May You have the blessing of wisdom from Athena- oops, Athena has no jurisdiction here. Good luck anyways."

Chell edged over to the raised tile and experimented by cautiously pressing down on it with the tip of her toe. Something beneath the floor rattled, clicked, and it sunk beneath her weight. The doors opposite her swung open. Grinning triumphantly she walked toward them, but as her foot left the tile, it raised and the doors shut once more.

Oh. So this was a trial.

She looked around for the bronze box which was thankfully hollow and set it atop the tile. The way was cleared, and she walked through the gates. Easy enough.

"Congratulations. You have shown you have the mental capacity to put a cube on a triggering mechanism. You are now smarter than .225% of the humans that go through. If you had friends they would be very proud of you."

Chell displayed a bit of amusement, a silent nervous laugh making her hunch her shoulders as if she didn't really get what was being said. It was surely all in good fun. Right?

Coming down a much less grand hallway that ended to the opening of a cramped empty room, she tread slowly and looked around, confused. What was she supposed to-

Suddenly she grabbed at the walls as the floor gave under her feet. She could feel her stomach fly into her throat and The amazonian tensed her muscles in anticipation of the fall.

She never did. opening her eyes the young woman saw that it was actually whole room moving with the help of a system of wooden wheels and ropes. She stood close to the wall, jaw dropped, breathing heavily in shock and awe of what was happening as she rattled to her destination. A moving room. Amazing! This goddess was truly remarkable!

"Hahaha, oh I always love the reactions from the subjects when they get in the elevator. One man actually urinated all over the floor. Too bad for him the floor was actually unbaked clay at that time and he fell through. He fell through because the clay got wet. We couldn't afford to actually bake the clay then. He also died. Oh, don't give me that look- today I can state with confidence that our ascending rooms are made from 23 % durable marble. At least the walls anyway."

She began to think that her overseer not only had killed others, but could she have actually enjoyed it? Death was normal and it happened every day. Never was murder celebrated or enjoyed. She realized that this goddess might actually cause her harm, just as she had arrived at the entrance to another circle of hell.


End file.
